The Mexican government, led by the federal Environment and Natural Resources Secretariat (SEMARNAT), and a company called CEGIR/Centro de Gestion Integral de Residuos S.A., have been quietly planning to put a hazardous waste dump in O’odham territory close to the sacred site of Quitovac. Just a few miles southwest of the Sonora state border with Arizona and close to the beach resort of Puerto Peñasco. This project has been conducted with no involvement of the Indigenous O’odham communities in the decision-making processes.

Under the Border 2012 program, a bi-national program for the U.S.-Mexico border region, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is working with Mexico to promote this type of facility, ignoring the impact on the traditional O’odham communities and their culture, traditions, sacred sites and spiritual well-being.

The site would potentially treat and separate up to 45,000 tons of hazardous waste materials annually, including asbestos, organochlorides and waste sludge from industries. To date, SEMARNAT has approved all permits except the land-use permit - a permit that requires the local municipality's approval. The community had not been informed of the plan or any health risks and dangers associated with such a scheme prior to this approval.

The proposed site would expose children and nearby communities to dangerous toxins released in the land, air, and water, potentially contaminate the underground well water the communities depend on, desecrate the sacred ceremonial grounds of Quitovac, thus devastating the culture, traditions, sacred sites and spiritual well-being of theO’odham Indigenous peoples in both Mexico and the U.S. as well as Potentially repel vacationers who frequent nearby Puerto Peñasco which would threaten the income of Sonoran residents dependent on tourist dollars. The dump would also potentially destroy the biodiversity of a nearby natural lagoon.

Join the O’odham in their fight to stop the proposed hazardous waste dump!